KALPETTA: Amidst the fear of wild animal attacks, residents of Meenangadi and Thirunelly in Wayanad district cast their votes on Friday. On Thursday, Amaldev, a class VIII student from Moonnanakuzhi, miraculously survived a tiger attack here. He was on his way to his school to attend a holiday camp when he spotted a tiger approaching from a nearby coffee plantation.
“As there was a fence near the plantation, the boy had time to escape from the tiger and seek help from nearby residents. Due to the commotion, the tiger went back into the coffee plantation but was spotted again by a woman the same day. There was widespread fear among the residents to step out and cast their votes. Since nobody dared to walk to the polling stations, representatives of political parties here arranged special transportation facilities for the voters. The public also requested to cast their votes before evening considering the attacks,” said Binu K T, a coffee plantation worker in Mylambadi.
He further said that in the last two months, two tigers were caught in Kaloorkunnu and Mylambadi areas in Poothadi and Meenangadi panchayats. The intermittent presence of tigers in Mylambadi, Pullumala and Munnanakuzhi areas has increased the concern of the people living in here.
Meanwhile, two car passengers had also spotted a tiger in Thirunelly on Thursday. The forest department carried out inspections in the area where the tiger was spotted but could not find it.
Despite the threat of wild animal attacks, polling took place peacefully in forest booths, especially in Kurichiyad and Chettiyalathur areas. Apart from the election officers, Thunderbolt, police and forest department officials were assigned for the security of these booths. Out of 74 voters from about 30 families in Kurichiyad, 70 cast their votes at the polling station no. 83 of Sultan Bathery assembly segment. Meanwhile, 110 out of 139 voters in Chettiyalathur village cast their votes. A presiding officer, three polling officers and police officials were deployed at the polling station. The big hurdle before the officials was to reach the polling booths in both villages without being attacked by wild animals.
Wild animals such as wild elephants, tigers and bison were likely to disrupt voting. In 2019, a wild elephant had destroyed the polling station in Chettiyalathur. Two days ago, a team of election officers who visited Kurichiyad to assess the polling preparations also spotted a bison.